


Lost and Found

by ptw30



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Black Paladin Shiro (Voltron), Fix-it fic, Gen, Shiro Week 2018, Shiro loves his big black cat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-23
Updated: 2018-11-23
Packaged: 2019-08-28 04:23:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16716534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ptw30/pseuds/ptw30
Summary: For Shiro Week 2018 Day Six - Lost and FoundShiro can’t bond with Atlas.





	Lost and Found

**Author's Note:**

> I’m going to write fix-it fics forever, it seems.

Shiro couldn’t hide the secret any longer. He hadn’t wanted to confront the issue. He didn’t even want to admit it to himself, let alone tell anyone else, but following a battle versus what remained of the Fire of Purification, Shiro needed to come clean. His reticence almost cost a lieutenant her life and injured another seven members of the crew on Deck Five.

He needed to deal with the problem before another person suffered from his poor judgement.

Shiro called the paladins to the Lions’ hanger. They’d seen him at his best and at his worst. They would understand and help him through this difficult time.

As everyone gathered, Shiro mused how they stood before their lions – Keith before Black, Lance before Red, Allura over Blue, Hunk before Yellow, and Pidge before Green. Perhaps with his back toward the hanger’s exit, he embodied Atlas. 

That only exacerbated the ache in his chest. 

Shiro met Allura’s worried eyes, gathering strength from her tiny, encouraging smile, and managed to say, “I – I can’t hear Atlas.”

Silence followed for a long moment before Hunk urged, “What do you mean? Atlas – ”

“When I flew Black, he would talk to me. We had a connection. I don’t – I can’t – It’s not the same with Atlas,” Shiro eventually settled on. “I request, and he’ll listen sometimes. But we don’t have the same bond. There really isn’t a bond, and – I think – I think we need to find Atlas’ true paladin. He or she should be the captain, not me.”

There. He’d said it. Now all that was left was for Allura to agree, and then he could work with the paladins to find a new position on the ship. Perhaps he could help with maintenance on the lions or the MFE jets, or maybe there was a place on the bridge for him, if not in command than perhaps in –

“I can’t hear Red either.”

Shiro’s eyes shot up to Lance, who stood off the side with his arms crossed and eyes averted. He didn’t looked ashamed, more tired and sad. “Red growls at me sometimes, mostly when I’m looking at Allura or fighting with Keith. But I mean – it’s not like when I was in Blue.”

“I can’t hear Black either,” Keith chimed in. “Sometimes I’ll feel a cool breeze across the back of my neck or cheek, but that’s it. No words. Nothing to actually help in battle.”

Pidge let out an exasperated sigh. “All this time, none of you thought to say  _anything_?”

“You struggled to find your balance in this configuration,” Shiro admitted, though he struggled himself to find balance at the moment. What did this mean? “I didn’t want to somehow cause you to break apart and have to re-forge your bonds again.”

“But we never did, did we?” Keith asked, tone low and gutted. “Shiro, don’t you see? We’re still broken, even now.”

Allura approached Shiro, hands out to take his metal arm in her own. “Do you mind…?”

He wasn’t sure what exactly she was asking, but he trusted Allura. He lay his hands in hers.

Allura slid a hand over the forearm, over the compartment that held her tiara crystal. She closed her eyes but opened them a moment later, revealing glowing blue pupil-less eyes. It was eerie to see, eerier to listen to the silence in those few moments before Lance said, “That’s creepy.”

“Really?” Keith asked. “You put mustard on nachos.”

“Your point?”

“It’s creepy, dude,” Hunk added.

“Dijon mustard, okay? It’s not the same. Pidge, back me up.”

“You think Allura can hear us talking?”

“Yes, I can,” Allura said and then blinked, blue pupils once more coming into focus. She took Shiro’s other arm in her hand, too, smiling as she did so. “Did you have something you wished to add, Shiro?”

Shiro returned her grin and looked over Allura’s head at Lance. “It actually does taste pretty good.”

Lance spread her arms wide. “Whoo! It’s good to know someone on this team has taste.”

Keith stuck out his tongue, while Hunk muttered, “It’s not  _good_  taste.”

“I do have to apologize, Shiro, to all of you.” Allura glanced behind her, though her eyes lingered on Keith and Lance. “I didn’t know about the depths of my abilities following Oriande, and I wanted to help Shiro as soon as possible. I…I didn’t want to wait, and it caused you all great pain.”

“Allura, I’m grateful for all you did to – ”

She silenced Shiro with a quick squeeze of his hands. “Shiro, I must make amends, starting with Atlas. She asked me to inform you that she is, indeed, female.”

Shiro’s cheeks flushed. “Oh, uh – ”

“ – and she is not fond of the name Atlas. But more importantly….” Allura’s voice trialed on as she drew Shiro away from the hanger’s exit and to the looming presence behind Keith – the Black Lion.

“Allura, I don’t think – ”

“It is all right, Shiro,” she assured. “I cannot express the depths of my remorse. It – It must have been unbearable at first, to separated from him after being bonded so completely.”

Shiro looked up at Black, eyes scrunched to stop the tears, then looked away. “Lonely. Bereft.”

“Then we shall fix that now.”

Shiro’s head perked up; he turned wide-eyed to her. “Fix? How can you possibly – ”

Allura threaded her fingers with Shiro’s mechanical arm while lifting up a hand to the Black Lion. Black’s head dipped, massive snout pressing against her palm, and then Shiro gasped.

Allura tore her hands from both him and Black, and threads of purple light flowed from each. A drawing, a stealing of quintessence weakened Shiro’s knees, and he stumbled. But Allura did quick work. Her hands wove the two lines of quintessence like one would tie a shoe, and then in a tiny burst of violet light, Shiro collapsed to the ground.

Worried shouts rang behind him, but Shiro could hardly make them out over the fond, bone-rattling roar that echoed through the hanger.

Shiro gasped and covered his mouth. Tears blurred his vision as he looked up at the lion, who went down on his  stomach to be even - or as close as Black ever could be – with Shiro.

Images blasted him one after another after another but they all meant the same thing - Black had missed him and welcomed him back.

Shiro staggered to his feet and jerked, turning to look over his shoulder at Keith. Keith wore an open, kind smile, and came to Shiro’s side. He took hold of Shiro’s hand before squeezing and knocking their shoulders together.

“I’ve just been warming the seat.” Relief made his voice breathless and fond. “He’s been waiting for you. We all have.”

Shiro stumbled forward then, coming to Black’s larger form. Black’s eyes flared again as Shiro placed his hand upon the snout. Cool velvet fur brushed his cheek, urging him to press his forehead against Black’s surface.

They were one again, and in the back of his mind, Black echoed the sentiment.

 _Mine_.

“…is anyone else grossed out by this?” Pidge said, but Hunk just cooed. 

Lance snorted. “Get a room, you two.”

Allura cleared her throat. “Right then. Next one.”

Shiro managed, with great difficulty, to pull himself away from Black, though he kept a hand upon his lion’s snout. Allura drew Keith over to Red, who welcomed her paladin with a playful cuff of his shoulder and an affectionate rumble.

Lance looked over at Blue but didn’t move toward her.

Allura held him from behind, arms folded about his shoulders. She pressed up on her toes to whisper something in his ear. Choked sobs shook Lance’s lithe frame, and then he exploded forward, arms wide as if he could take Blue in his arms.

“Blue! Babe! I’m sorry,” he whined. “Forgive me!”

Instead of putting up her barrier, Blue lowered his head and accepted Lance’s body plant right into her snout. 

Allura’s tender smile brightened her face in a way Shiro hadn’t seen in quite sometime. She seemed at peace, shoulders back, face smooth and calm.

“Who will fly…uh, the ship?” Shiro asked, unsure what to call Atlas now.

Allura’s smile widened; she appeared almost…giddy. “I will, and she requests that you refer her to as The White Lioness, Shiro.”

Shiro dropped to the ground and petted the hanger’s floor, murmuring so the others wouldn’t hear, “Thank you, for all you did for me. I am sorry I didn’t understand, White Lioness, but I’m glad you’ve found your true paladin -”

The Black Lion snatched Shiro up in his massive jaws and sped out of the hanger. 


End file.
